User Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by raszputini:

From the tap at Thirsty Monk in a Belgium stem glass....Pours a bright amber with a light tan head. Smells of belgian yeast, coriander, and alcohol. The taste is complex - belgian yeast and sugar, coriander, and light maltiness. The ABV is very well biried. The finish is surprisingly clean.

More User Reviews:

My first selection on tap at The Publick House today at brunch with fellow BA's, inHOPpursuit, woodychandler, fitzIPAtrick, growler and Cracker...just could not pass up this opportunity...$6 for a 10oz. pour and worth every penny.
Arrived in a small flute glass a dark copper color with a fine layer of off white head...less than a half a finger. Very little lacing as I worked my way through this one.
A beautiful plethora of spice, sweet caramel malt, bourbon, and a touch of floral hops.
The taste is a perfectly balanced brew with candi sugar and a generous bourbon barrell flavor to complement this incredible offering. Mildly sweet and not bitter, yet finishes very clean on the pallet.
Mouthfeel is thicker than average and the carbonation is sublime.
Beer menu states 10% abv yet there is no heat at all...quite drinkable and a perfect start to my Sunday.

A snifter served at the Allagash promo night at the Blind Tiger in NYC.

A: Much like the FOUR with strawberries, the barrel aged version is a dark quad color, thick and brown. A bit of head hangs on perilously at top of the snifter.

S: The nose has lost its quad edge, instead taking on a softer malt body that is nicely coated by an oaky, buttery sweetness. The nose is to die for.

T: The oak aging has transformed this big hulking beer into a genteel beer well worth its weight in gold. The oak creates a buttery soft flavor, softening the malts and their bite. As a result, the is a dangerously drinkable ale and well worth seeking out. The finish is buttery with vanilla notes and a distinct sweetness. This is how a good beer should taste.

M: The barrel aging has done wonders for the beer, taking away all of the harsh malty quad elements and replacing them with the softness of an oak barrel. This is another winner in Allagash's barrel aged stable.

D: The abv is at least as strong as the FOUR, which tops 10%, so beware. I had two glasses and was feeling it at the end. If you see this anywhere, get there and try a glass. You will not be disappointed.

Try as I have recently to find something I like about Allagash beers, being local (ie new england) and all, but they seem to fall flat more often than not. No suprise that this has been retired and sadly, no suprise that this one is no different than their other brews.

Although not indicated above, this quad is 10% abv. My taste came from a 750 ml undated bottle. Started out kinda nice with a cloudy, sunburst orange appearance in my Czechvar tulip glass and with a nice two finger and creamy head and webby lace.

All down hill from here. Very mild aroma (of beer ingredients anyway), but I had to do a double take when I swirled it and noticed it was phenolic with plastic and rubber scents eminating from my glass. Possibly an older bottle? I 'll never know.

Taste was also phenolic and mediciny. No esters to speak of which is hard to fathom for the style. Carbonated and slightly buttery though as it warms up.

Carbonated mouthfeel and slightly buttery and creamy in the finish.

Only a mildy impressive showing overall. I can taste etoh but only slightly and in the finish. It did improve as it warmed up, and it is drinkable but hardly a quad worth shelling out $10 for.

( 44/50, 10% alc/vol, Holiday Inn, San Diego) Deep mohaganey color, clean and clear. Looks like a brandy in the glass. It also has a thin beige head. As soon as the bottle opened I got delicious apple-cinamon pie on caramel-maple sugar syrup. Delicious vinous and sweet nose thick with a herbal hops and a good belgian cherry alcohol from it's yeast. The crunch is honey-maple and brown sugar. Very sweet, yet the english-style hops liken the ale to their barley wines. Very sweet and oaky. All this, yet it is not dry, but rich and very warming. Tremendous flavours for a nitecap. Has dandelion, syruppy and grass-like bitterness. Very strong, vinous quadrupel. Feels more like a barleywine in my book though. Tops as a nitecap, very warming and sticky. Brandy quality in a smooth 10% alc./vol. body.

At least for me, this was the beer of the evening at the Allagash event at Max's the other night.

The beer pours a toffee brown color with very good head retention and sticky lacing. This beer looks extremely attractive and impressive. On the nose I get a boat load of brown sugar and chocolate, with a hint of underlying citrus. On the palate this beer is very rich, with a moderately sweet combination of cherry, vanilla, sherry and wood. The flavor profile of this beer is quite complex, and quite delicious. This beer is fairly full bodied, with a soft, plush, very long finish. The abv. is pretty well disguised for the most part, though one gets a noticeable warming sensation after a bit.

This is just an excellent beer from Allagash. Not sure it differs all that significantly from the regular Four, but whatever, it was just delicious.

Pours a cloudy mahogany. Head starts off with a foamy quarter inch, quickly dissipating to a swirly bit that sticks around for the duration. Smells pungent of dried fruits (prunes, cherries). Taste follows with a very strong flavor of fruits (again, prunes and cherries) along with some alcohol acridness that soon dissipates (thankfully!). You are left with a complex blend of flavors that do not play on their own, they are copious and constant, all blending together. Spices (mainly nutmeg and other mild flavors) mingle with the fruits. Mouthfeel is good and this quadrupel is quite drinkable (the higher alcohol content is often hard to mask it seems in quadrupels).

Had this from a special keg at the Brick Store in Decatur that was sent to Georgia to promote the introduction of Allagash to the state. Lucky enough to have a couple of goblets. Pours a murky brown with a nice head and some okay lacing. Bourbon up front on the nose, followed by toasty oak, candi sugar sweetness, and a tiny tang of sour with some fruity apple on the finish. Really nice. The taste is even more than what the nose promised. Pronounced bourbon up front, followed by big toasty oak laced with bourbon, dark fruit- especially figs and prunes- laced with brown sugar, but quite attenuated and with a tannic finish. The mouthfeeel is rich, but crisp and drinks nicely. Just a wonderful beer- I hope it gets brought back.

On tap at the Great Lost Bear.
8 oz pour presented in a mini Allagash glass.
A whisp of a off white head clinging to the edge of the glass, mahogany body with ruby tones and slight haze.
Mind-bending nose.
Red wine, dried cherries, vanilla, sweet malt.
Very complex and teasing.
A light lactic tinge adds a nice tartness.
Sips with light carbonation and a fairly thin body.
Loads of dark fruits, dried malt, a hint of spiceyness, and
warming alcohol. An oakey dryness and mild oxidation add great depth as the beer warms.
A smooth bitterness and lingering vineousity finish the pallet.
This "Four" is totally different from the bottled version.
The barrel aging has turned this gem into something in between a well aged *strong* barleywine and Rodenbach.

Draught. Beautiful, well aromatized bourbon barrel contribution in the nose, with hints of vanilla and coconut, which combined with the original beers yeasty, dark fruit nature (apples mainly), ultimately leads to an inviting and balanced aroma. Unfiltered orange/red color. Upon tasting, it has rich Belgiany fruit throughout and it's very authentic. The barrel elevates the body and adds hints of bourbon, toasted wood, vanilla and coconut.

Extreme Beer Fest 2/15/08: After really enjoying the regular version of this beer, I was excited to try the bourbon barrel-aged version. However, all the things that I liked about the Four (Belgian fruits, lightness) just did not mesh with the bourbon and the bourbon completely dominated this beer.
6/3/7/3/13 (3.2/5)